💗 Two Weeks

I ask can you give two weeks? I recently found out that I was potentially exposed to this COVID virus. My response? I let my friend with whom I visited and our daughter for whom I babysit our grandson know of this. It was agreed that the best, safest, and most caring course of action was for me to distance myself from them. These are people who I normally hold within my tightened circle, and with whom I interact  on a regular basis. 

    Some will ask why I am fearful. It's not fear; it's love, compassion, empathy, and trust. I love my family and friends enough to give up two weeks. Two weeks, fourteen days, 336 hours, 20,160 minutes, 1,209,600 seconds (lol ... if I did my math correctly). In the course of a lifetime, this is not much to ask. Over the course of eternity, it's a mere speck, maybe less.

    However, it could mean the health and livelihood of my family and friends and their extended family and friends. 

John 15:11-13 

11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

I remember thinking as a young Christian that these words spoke only of Christ's sacrifice on the cross, but as I grew and matured, I realized that these words are for us in today's modern world as well. We show our love for others when we willingly set aside our lives for the good of others. We give our time, our talents, our service, and yes, in the midst of this pandemic, we give up what we most enjoy for the sake of those we love. 

    So, I ask you. Are you willing to give two weeks? 

    Please, if you've been hospitalized, give two weeks.

    If you've been to highly exposed areas for a prolonged amount of time, give two weeks.

    If you know you may have been exposed to the virus, give two weeks.

    It's a small thing to ask, really, but it could mean the very lives of those you love most.